Bruce Bairnsfather was a prominent British humourist and cartoonist. His best-known cartoon character is Old Bill (aka Ole Bill), a curmudgeonly soldier with trademark walrus moustache and balaclava. Bill and his pals Bert and Alf featured in Bairnsfather's 'Fragments from France,' a weekly cartoon series about life in the trenches. It was published in The Bystander during the First World War.

Bairnsfather had joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and served with a machine gun unit in France until 1915. At that time he was hospitalised with shellshock and hearing damage sustained during the Second Battle of Ypres. While posted to the 34th Division headquarters on Salisbury Plain, he developed his concept for Old Bill and it was quickly taken up by Bystander about life in the trenches, featuring "Old Bill", .

Old Bill's popularity saw him portrayed on both the stage and in films. Several prominent actors portrayed Old Bill in Australia during their careers, including comedian Harry Thurston.